MEET THE JUDGES - JONATHAN HAGOS AND NASIM KOERTING

Welcome to our ‘Meet the Judges’ series! This is a 3-part series where we talk to every one of our judges to get an insight into what their take is on the hugely anticipated, Surface Design Awards 2023 

Firstly, we hear from our Co-Chairs, Jonathan Hagos of Freehaus and Nasim Koerting of The Office Group. We are so excited to have Jonathan and Nasim on board with us to lead our 2023 panel! 

To enter Surface Design Awards, please click the following link: https://www.bespokeentries.co.uk/surface-design-awards-dashboard/

 

Jonathan Hagos
 

What are you looking forward to most about co-chairing the Surface Design Awards?

It’s such an exciting role to have - I took part in the judging last year and really enjoyed seeing such breadth of design approaches, contextual challenges, and climatic concerns. I’m most looking forward to debating the supreme winner with the interiors judging team.

 What are you personally looking for in terms of entries?

A sense of advocacy; whether that be through the promotion of environmentally innovate materials or perhaps the clarity of how well the client’s ambitions and contextual setting have manifested in the final design and approaches to materiality and form.

What advice would you give to those looking to submit a successful award?

Take good photographs and if you can, hire a professional photographer. Also consider how you tell a journey through the building, it’s important to not forget that we only have what is submitted to judge from, so I’d encourage those submitting to capture their projects holistically. 

Why are awards so important to architects and designers?

Peer to peer recognition is such an important way to underline the significance of a project and to also build the momentum of your practice. It’s also a great way to communicate industry presence to prospective clients.

What are some emerging trends in materials you’ve noticed?

Certainly, from an architectural perspective there continues to be a strong focus on materials that create unique spaces that speak to their contexts; materials that are local and have inherent social value. Of equal importance is materials that have clear, ethical supply chains.

Sustainability is once again a leading criteria for every project, what’s your experience of successfully delivering sustainable solutions in what you do?

100% of our projects are to existing buildings and so retrofit is a big theme in our practice.

Alongside this we adopt fabric first principles and work with the grain of an existing building to create efficient and lean design solutions. We always aim to adopt passive measures before incorporating more active measures such as renewables.  An informed selection of materials can drastically impact on the carbon emissions of a project and therefore its longevity. With a climate emergency upon us and an energy crisis looming, designers and architects have a huge part to play. 

The theme of 2023’s Surface Design Show is ‘shaping communities’. Can you describe a project that you’ve been involved that has a strong sense of community - The Africa Centre perhaps? 

Our practice delivers a breadth of projects across various sectors, but we are particularly enthused by civic projects; projects that shape their neighbourhoods and that are designed with and for the communities that will inhabit them. So the idea of ‘shaping communities’ really resonates with us.
The Africa Centre’s new headquarters in Southwark and Rising Green, a new youth centre in Wood Green, are a number of projects we’ve recently completed where we’ve co-authored the design with members of the local community so that they speak to their needs and ambitions. The spirit of co-authorship is a methodology we’re keen to promote across all of our projects and one that we feel gives rise to more meaningful architecture and more agency in our communities. We have several other civic projects in the pipeline, including a new educational annexe at the Clement James Centre in North-West Kensington and affordable workspaces for the Trampery to the Historic Tottenham High Road.

 

Nasim Koerting
 

What are you looking forward to most about co-chairing the Surface Design Awards?

I’m actually looking forward to getting to know all the judges. The list of people on board this year is really different and special, it’s going to be great to have such a diverse range of voices. 

What are you personally looking for in terms of entries?

Without wanting to sound cliched, it’s seeing the responses to sustainability from around the world. One of the things I really enjoyed in my last judging role was the international aspect, getting to see the different patterns and styles, something I’m also looking forward to seeing with the Surface Design Awards. 

What advice would you give to those looking to submit a successful award?

I would simply love to see something I haven’t seen before. As part of my job I get to see and experience a lot of design and I do see the same trends time and time again. 

Why are awards so important to architects and designers?

For me personally, when I had my own design practice, after I’ve designed a space it’s nice to get recognition of your work beyond your client. After you’ve put all that effort into it, it’s nice to be able to show the industry the work you’ve done. 

What are some emerging trends in materials you’ve noticed?

As a trend, back to nature is still popular, designers are reflecting on colour, textures and patterns that evoke the natural world. 

Sustainability is once again a leading criteria for every project, what’s your experience of successfully delivering sustainable solutions in what you do at TOG?

At TOG, I am lucky enough to be working on central London’s tallest mass timber office building - the Black and White Building in Shoreditch. With such an authentic building, we decided to specify furniture designed and made within the local area, something we achieved, so we know it’s possible, but it was something of a challenge.

The theme of this year’s Surface Design Show is ‘shaping communities’. Can you describe a TOG location that has a strong sense of community? 

Again, I’d probably say the Black and White Building. We have established a programme there called ‘Mentors and Makers’. It’s a scheme we set up with the social enterprise the POor Collective to help the next generation of art and design students gain experience. There are three established designers - Sebastian Cox, Matteo Fogale and Andu Masebo. A group of art and design students will develop a piece of furniture, accessory or artwork with these ‘mentors’ that underpins the building’s sustainable design principles. The student’s final pieces will be completed by October with the results on show in the Black and White Building’s ground-floor lounge by the end of the year.